Referring to the "bribery door" two years ago, GlaxoSmithKline CEO An Weijie said that "the past has passed". An Weijie said: "The combination of more affordable prices and higher sales volume is a business model worthy of promotion and can achieve a win-win situation. Over the past two years, we have been devoted to exploring and understanding the needs of the government and the demands of the public, as well as the real development direction of the medical and health field in China.
Referring to the "bribery door" two years ago, GlaxoSmithKline CEO An Weijie said that "the past has passed". In the future, GlaxoSmithKline will develop its business according to the demand and expectation of China market and adapt to the rules of China. The combination of more affordable price and higher sales volume is a business model worth popularizing.
Caixin (Reporter Ren Jiaying) Two years ago, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), the largest pharmaceutical company in the UK, was caught in the "bribery door" in China. It was making strategic adjustment and gradually turned to a sales model of lowering drug prices and exchanging price for quantity.
GSK's series of actions have attracted much attention from both inside and outside the industry. Previously, GSK initiated a $20 billion asset swap with another pharmaceutical giant Novartis, which was disclosed in the third quarter. GSK sold its oncology department, including R&D, products, intellectual property and marketing, to Novartis at a asking price of $654.38+0.6 billion. Then it acquired Novartis's vaccine business except influenza vaccine for a total price of about 7 1 billion dollars. This shows that GSK intends to give up the operation of high-profit tumor drugs and further focus on the vaccine business with low profit margin.
A few days ago, Andrew Witty, CEO of GSK, Britain's largest pharmaceutical company, was interviewed by Caixin reporter. He analyzed the development after bribery, the relationship between drug price and innovation, and how GSK views the market prospect of China.
With the implementation of the new medical reform policy, China's investment in medical and health fields has been expanding and the level of protection has been gradually improved. The attraction of the pharmaceutical market in China is also increasing. An Weijie said that "the past has passed", and GSK will develop its business according to the demand and expectation of China market and adapt to the rules of China.
An Weijie said: "The combination of more affordable prices and higher sales volume is a business model worthy of promotion and can achieve a win-win situation."
The following is an exclusive interview with Caixin reporter:
Caixin reporter: What do you think of the development potential of China pharmaceutical market? What are the opportunities and challenges?
Now, the challenge we face is how to meet these needs at an affordable price. We have begun to look for some more innovative and modern treatment methods, including not only drugs, but also all other means that can be used for treatment. We hope these treatments are cheap.
Of course, some people in the industry disagree with me. But I think that only affordable innovation has practical significance, and we need to find a balance between innovation and economic value. In the past two years, in China, we have been trying to find out where to start lowering the price. We believe that even if the price is reduced, we can still get good returns and create profits for the company. More importantly, lowering the price can benefit more patients.
Another driving force of China's pharmaceutical market is the reform of China's medical system, which will make the operation of China's medical system more efficient. Historically, China's medical service price and hospital profit model have their own characteristics, but they will be improved and more transparent in the future, which will help people understand how the medical resources in China are allocated.
In addition, we have developed corresponding products to meet the needs of the medical market in China, supplemented by doctor training. For example, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is a disease with a very high mortality rate in China. Now, we are trying to introduce drugs for treating chronic obstructive pulmonary disease into China, and carry out an independent education program to help update the knowledge reserve of doctors in China.
Generally speaking, the medical market in China is vast and there are many opportunities, but they need to be realized within the affordability of the public. Our new technology should not only serve the rich, but also serve more ordinary people, which is an interesting place in China market.
In China, some old ways of market operation will be out of date, and you will see new ways. We want to be the leaders of new ways.
Over the past two years, we have been devoted to exploring and understanding the needs of the government and the demands of the public, as well as the real development direction of the medical and health field in China. At the same time, we have also formulated the corresponding business strategy, reformed the business model, and strived to reduce the price. There are many exciting opportunities in China's medical market. We hope to operate in China in the future, not just based on the past.
The question is, how can these expensive medical technologies and services benefit more people? Britain's medical system is perfect, but only around the construction of large hospitals; In fact, many health and medical services can be done outside the hospital. Today, the application of many new technologies does not need hospitals, but only needs to break away from the shackles of the old medical system or structure and establish a flexible new system.
In the next twenty or thirty years, health will be a major event in China. In any country, health is the center of economic development, which can have a great impact on people and release the vitality of urban economy.
Caixin reporter: GlaxoSmithKline is carrying out many projects in China. Did the previous scandal drag down the progress of the project?
Last year, in particular, we tried to modernize our working methods to suit the new China, not the old China. If you can see what we have done, you must know that no company in any industry in China has done more in this respect than GlaxoSmithKline.
Although this is risky, I am still very happy because we have done something different from others. I believe that our pace is in step with the new China, and other companies will follow our pace.
A few years later, I hope that when we look back, we can say that we walked in front of the industry and led the development of the industry. Although we went through a difficult period two years ago, it didn't stop us from becoming a constructive member of China. In China, we are not tourists, but members who really want to help China build and reform its medical system. If you pay attention to GlaxoSmithKline, you will know that this is not empty talk, and we have already done so.
We are changing our business model, lowering prices and introducing new technologies. We have done all these things, instead of starting to do them later. I hope that with the passage of time, the public in China can think less about what happened two years ago and look more at what happened today and what will happen tomorrow.
Caixin reporter: You have some fierce comments. You are very firm about the affordability of drugs. GlaxoSmithKline has revealed that it plans to transfer a batch of vaccine products and technologies to China, and adopt lower prices to ensure the accessibility of drugs. But how to ensure that lowering drug prices will not affect the development of new products?
The key is to find balance. Nowadays, many people pay too much attention to price and not enough attention to sales. In fact, whether it is high price and low sales volume or low price and high sales volume, the income generated by these two models is the same. Sometimes lowering the price can benefit more customers.
In my opinion, the combination of more affordable price and higher sales volume is a business model worth popularizing and has a win-win effect. Doing so will enable the company to obtain a sustained and good return on investment, which is conducive to pharmaceutical and technological innovation; Not only do we rely on high-priced products, but we can also make profits through a larger product portfolio and more affordable prices. In this respect, China is the best example, because it is too big and has many opportunities.
Our business model is different from that of our competitors, but I think in the next 10- 15 years, more and more people in the world need drugs, but they can't afford the prices of drugs sold in the western world. At this time, we must find a solution. This is a major strategic issue for the company, and we are sure to find this solution.
Caixin reporter: Is this a new strategy after the scandal? Or are you always like this?
Indeed, we want to innovate, and if we want to innovate, we will do well. However, if we set high prices for innovative drugs or technologies and make it difficult for people to get them, then we will be in trouble. Looking back over the past 40 or 50 years, the vast majority of innovations in the world have been driven by 6.7 billion people in the United States or western European countries, who are essentially the drivers of innovation.
But today, the world population has reached 6.6 billion, and many of them are climbing the economic pyramid. They have their own expectations and wishes. They want to influence innovation and get innovative results, but they can't. They have not reached the income level of the United States and western Europe. This is something we can't ignore.
We must admit that there are many new needs to be solved now. In China and other countries in the world, we are trying to find a balance between innovation and affordability through transformation. GlaxoSmithKline's philosophy is to look at the development of the surrounding environment from a strategic perspective and connect products with changes in public life.
Caixin reporter: More and more China people go abroad to buy low-priced original drugs. Some people think that China should learn from Indian and other countries' experience and improve its powerful generic drug system, but others think that China should strictly limit this behavior. What do you think of this problem?
A: This is a good question. Before China's entry into WTO, generic drugs had a strong vitality in China. Many pharmaceutical companies have copied the original drugs, and these products have no intellectual property rights. From this point of view, China is similar to India to a great extent. However, these products may not be translated into the economic profits expected by adults, because their prices are far lower than those of generic drugs. However, the China government is pushing many reforms to change the status quo, so I think this problem can be solved without imitating India.
Secondly, the opacity of the price system makes it difficult for the whole system to present economic rationality. Because different companies have different discount methods and other differences. The difference between China and India is that the Indian government has not played any role in the medical and health field, and basically everything depends on free market behavior, and the free market price is highly transparent. However, in China, the government plays a great role in the medical industry, and various institutions and mechanisms are established to restrain it. Therefore, the issue of price transparency is particularly important.
You can look back at Britain and other countries. The transparency is high, the price of new drugs is reasonable, the price of generic drugs is low, and the whole drug price system works well. So I think we can think deeply about this question: What was broken?
I don't think the answer lies in getting more generic drugs or making them easier to manufacture-you already have a lot. The real question is, why can't generic drugs have lower prices? How do you solve this problem?
Caixin reporter: You just mentioned the role of the China government. Since the beginning of this year, the US Food and Drug Administration in China has initiated the reform of drug approval system. Do you have any suggestions for drug approval? In addition, China's approval of imported drugs is relatively slow, lagging behind many other countries. What do you think of this?
My comments on the reform of drug approval system in China are as follows: firstly, this is a very positive move; Secondly, as long as we can ensure that the best people stay in the food and drug supervision department, it is good news, even if it is only for two or three years as a transition. In the field of drug supervision, real professionals should be responsible for it, which can provide effective information to the government and make the public respect the management of the government. This is my only constructive opinion.
I think there is room for improvement in the examination and approval of imported drugs. Sometimes the approval of imported drugs is slow and complicated. Is this a big problem in China? Maybe, maybe not. Will this be used by some people as an excuse not to bring their technology to China? Maybe. Because, if you are not a very big company, why are you willing to spend all your time waiting? Otherwise, you can optimize your order or go somewhere else. Maybe you will focus on exporting to another country instead of China. Therefore, I think this is an area worthy of the government's observation to see if there is a better way. Can we make it more transparent and predictable? I think this may be a space of opportunity.
We sell toothpaste in many countries and will continue to pay attention to the health field in the future, including the production of daily necessities similar to toothpaste. But even so, over-the-counter drugs are the really important business. When people mention over-the-counter drugs, they always think that they are not drugs, but they are. Although the regulatory authorities believe that doctors do not need to prescribe OTC drugs, the manufacture, marketing and sales of OTC drugs still need to be controlled.
From this perspective, it is impossible that drugs are no longer drugs just because humans invented the Internet. As long as it is drugs, it needs to be controlled. For example, patients and drug sellers should be on the scene. You must go to see the patient and participate.
Therefore, I believe that OTC drugs have more room for development, because people want to get drugs more conveniently and in time. I believe the government will develop in this direction in the future. In addition, it is also a good way to reduce the administrative cost of the government. The government can pass the cost on to the buyer, which is more common in the United States and many European countries.
I don't think social media will have a great impact on the mechanism of OTC drugs. Social media has cultivated smarter consumers, provided consumers with more information and knowledge, and made them well informed, so they will ask questions when taking medicine: "Why should I take this medicine?" "I found another similar product. What about this product? "
Some people may not like this consequence and think it complicates life, but it is a positive change for the whole society, because people begin to understand their physical condition and participate in their health management. We no longer only rely on doctors or pharmacists, but turn to the model of "I+doctor+pharmacist", emphasizing patients' personal responsibility and participation.
We have learned about the role of social media in many fields. It makes people take responsibility for themselves. This is something that other mass media tools don't have. Television and newspapers can hardly have a truly transformative influence on individuals. This is of positive significance to public health, because health is a very private matter.
GlaxoSmithKline has seen the great influence of digital technology on our business in this personalized way. We use digital communication technology to train doctors, and the response is great. For doctors, they can get in touch with more senior doctors with the convenience of digital technology. This is difficult to happen within their usual duties.
Digital technology has created an equal dialogue. You can communicate with hundreds of people at home or even abroad, and doctors can form expert networks with each other. Once you get sick and come into contact with this network, you can contact experts thousands of miles away and get advice. So in my opinion, digital technology has influenced the way people get medicines. Even though it has not changed the delivery system of over-the-counter drugs, it has changed the way individuals know their health.
A: I think it is to develop drugs in the laboratory. Before I came here this morning, I reviewed GlaxoSmithKline's previous research. When I saw the research results of a rare disease, it almost made me cry, because the drug research and development for this disease is so effective, but it is so dramatic. When you look at these data, you will think: these patients are going to die, or they will lose some physical functions, but we are still exploring new drugs and gradually changing their future. How exciting this is. Therefore, it is very exciting to develop new drugs or invent the world's first malaria vaccine.
Many things are difficult, but as long as we are wise and can reach an understanding, we can formulate a reasonable business strategy, calculate the price, actively try and communicate with the government to solve these difficulties. In fact, the real difficulty and the most exciting thing is to develop a new drug.
The computer can't find the new medicine, and it will never be found. The research and development of new drugs is both a science and an art. Why did people in the movie "The Matrix" finally beat the computer? Because only humans can see a pattern, which is the same as drug research and development. We have a lot of data, but only a few people can see the pattern from it. When you find the pattern, you see the drug. This is the charm. This is the most attractive place in the whole pharmaceutical industry.